ALBANY -- The political season is in momentary respite, the primaries complete, the general election still over a month away.

But legislators haven't yet set a firm plan to return to the Capitol, where they are expected to pass legislation moving money to school districts and -- just maybe -- some form of property tax cap.

In August, legislators expected this would be the week. Legislative sources said Monday there is still no firm return date.

"The governor has indicated that it will be some time prior to the end of the year, or some time prior to the elections," said Austin Shafran, a spokesman for Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson. "Our conference is eager to come back to appropriate money to keep our educators working and provide property tax relief to suburban and rural communities."

Voting on the education aid -- $607 million passed by Congress in August -- should be "just a matter of passing a bill" since an agreement among all four legislative leaders and the governor was reached in August, according to Jessica Bassett, a spokeswoman for Gov. David Paterson. But the governor has reiterated a call for the Assembly to consider legislation capping property taxes, which passed the Senate earlier this summer.

Both Paterson and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo have pushed such a cap, but the Assembly's leadership had remained opposed. On Monday, Speaker Sheldon Silver indicated a thaw in his stance on the issue, but his allies indicate he is loath to consider the measure before the new year.

"The speaker and the majority conference are looking at a variety of proposals right now: the governor's, Mr. Cuomo's, what New Jersey did," said Bill Wise, a Silver spokesman. "They haven't settled on a plan yet, the conference hasn't taken a position yet, but they will."

Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes, said he hopes action can be forestalled until January.

"My gut tells me that this is a big issue, and I think we should wait until the next governor comes in, after the first of the year, debate this and discuss it and go on from there. To expect this to go through this year is unrealistic," he said.

Paterson is pushing for a vote before the election, he reiterated in a statement Sunday after Gannett News Service found there would be considerable support for the measure in the Assembly if it came to the floor. Politically, it might weaken Silver's position to either punt on taking action or vote a bill up or down under pressure now. If Cuomo is elected, he and Silver are likely to clash on a number of issues. Saving the cap as a laurel to deliver to him could soften their relations.